The Almost Date
by Glimia
Summary: Okay, Sakura walks in on Lee embarrasing himself. Which leads to her getting a new friend. Rated k for 1 swear word.


Alrighty, this is my first fic, so be gentle. One more thing. Thanks to Magick for Beta-reading my story. Much love.

Sakura+LeeLove

DISCLAIMER- I do not, never have, and never will own and of the brilliant characters of Naruto.

She walked down the street, rubbing her arms. It was cold. She was hungry, but it was one of those times that she didn't want to eat alone. Naruto was nowhere to be found, probably off with Hinata. Because they had gotten together. It's not that Sakura was jealous, she just hadn't thought that Naruto would have someone before she did. But she wasn't jealous. No sir.

And it was about this time when Sakura, in her daze, stumbled over a large rock in the ground, and fell flat on her face. She lay there for a moment, before jumping to her feet, whipping her head around, to see how many people had seen her embarrass herself. Thankfully, not many, but the ones who had seen….Sakura didn't think she would ever forget their faces as they tried to stifle their giggles.

It was around 2:00pm, when she heard it. It was a laugh. Well, actually, a lot of laughs. It sounded as though they had come from three different people. She turned her head, and saw Neji, Tenten and Lee in Ichiraku. They were all laughing, Lee looked embarrassed, and she could see he was telling a story. An amusing story by the look of it. Sakura, intrigued, used her Ninja skills to stealthily sneak until she was sitting right beside Lee.

"…And so then I tasted the oddest taste. It was impossible to describe. So I looked at the expiration date, and it was months ago! Why I had not seen it earlier I do not know, but-"At this he stopped. He heard a laugh that was not one of his teammates. He turned around, with a look that can only be described as pure horror, and found his face inches away Sakura's.

"I-I-I am sorry Sakura! I did not mean for you to hear that story!" He stuttered, his face as red as a tomato.

Sakura smiled, "That's okay Lee. It was funny." She gave him a look that made his heart melt.

Tenten, sensing an opportunity, silently got up, paid for her food, as well as Neji's, and then proceeded to drag said genius away.

Lee turned around, expecting to have his teammates save him from the awkwardness that was radiating off him. To his utter shock, when he turned, he saw nothing but two empty seats, and a note, with only two words, _Good Luck!_

_Those traitors!_ Thought Lee. Slowly, he turned around, half expecting, and not being disappointed, to find Sakura ordering a bowl of ramen for herself. He cleared his throat, bringing her attention back to him. A second later, he wished he could erase his actions; he did not want her attention on him. He felt as though he was making a spectacle of himself in front of all Konoha. Deciding to go through with his idiotic action, he said,

"Well, I should be going. If I stay here, and if it is just the two of us, people may think...things. And I do not wish to tarnish your reputation."

"You are going to leave me to eat alone?" She looked hurt.

"Yes. NO! I meant, uh, I do not want people to think we are on a date." He responded, rather quickly.

"You don't want to go on a date with me?"

"No! Of course I do! I mean, no, I just-"He stuttered, where had this all gone wrong?

"Well, just go ahead and hit down, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." She said reasonably.

"Yes," said a defeated Lee. As he went to sit down, he missed the stool, and fell on his bottom

"Lee! You are so funny! I can't believe what a klutz you are!" She laughed. Lee only scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

They talked for a while, although, he had noticed that whenever the conversation switched to her, and how well she was, she seemed to grow a little sad. Only, for a short moment, before her smile would return, but it was long enough for Lee to notice. He finally decided to ask her about.

"Sakura, you seem a little sad today, is everything alright?" He asked, the worry clear in his voice.

"Oh…I had hoped you wouldn't notice…It doesn't matter. I don't want to bother you with my problems. So, how has your training been?" She asked, as she tried to steer the conversation away from herself.

"Sakura, " started Lee, as he took her hands in his own, "I would be honored to help you with your problems. I will do whatever I can to fix it."

She looked into his eyes. "Well, there's this boy I really cared about…." That was as far as she got. She broke down into tears.

'…_Sasuke…'_ Lee thought. He made a mental note to kick his ass for making Sakura cry like this.

Lee stood up, paid for her food, and led her away from the crowds of people that were staring at her. He sat her down on the grass. He realized then that she was mumbling something. It sounded like one sentence, repeated. He leaned in closer, trying to understand what she was saying. He got it.

"The b-best cat I e-ever h-had…" She mumbled between sobs.

'_And I thought it was Sasuke. I feel like an ass,' _Thought Lee, as he foolishly chuckled for his mistake.

Sakura looked up when she heard him laugh.

"You think it's funny that I'm making such a big deal for a cat don't you?!" She yelled.

"Of course not," He said as he kissed the top of her head. "A pet quickly becomes as precious as any person. So, now you cry when a friend died. There is nothing shameful in that."

"Oh Lee, you are such a sweetheart." He smiled. Then he thought of something.

"Sakura, come with me. And close your eyes."

She obliged, and allowed him to weave her through the people, then she heard a door open, and a bell chime.

"Alright, you may open your eyes now," said Lee.

_'What's this odd smell, it almost smelled like-'_ she ripped her eyes open. She was in a pet store. She looked up to see Lee smiling at her.

"Pick anyone you want. I'll buy it for you."

Her eyes widened. "Anyone of them?" She repeated.

"Yes, anyone of them. See anything you like?"

She paced around the store, beaming with pride that Lee was going to buy her a new pet. She knew nothing would replace her turtle, but she had to move on. She couldn't wallow in self pity forever. She stopped so suddenly that Lee looked up from the parrot he was talking to. He said goodbye, and walked over to where she was. The look in her eyes made him want to hug her, and cry her at the same. He looked down, "She's a cute kitten," he told her. She absent-mindedly nodded. Lee could tell she was already deciding on a name for her.

"Yuki…" She mumbled.

"Yuki?" Asked Lee. She looked up, as though she had just then noticed he was there.

She blushed. "Yes," in a tone that dared him to laugh. But he didn't, he picked Yuki up, and brought her to the counter, along with kitten food, and the other things a kitten needs.

"I would like to pay for this now, if you do not mind," said Lee. Yuki was a small grey tabby. She had bright emerald eyes that reminded him of a certain Kunoichi.

They finished their business, and left to bring Yuki to her new home. Lee walked Sakura all the way back.

"Thank you Lee, for so much," Said Sakura as they approached her front door.

"It was my pleasure Sakura, please do not hesitate to tell me your problems next time. " He said as he kissed her hand.

Then he turned, and ran down the street. When he was about thirty feet from her, he turned back around and yelled, "Remember Sakura! You and Yuki are in the springtime of your youth!!" Before running off again.

'_Probably to train,'_ Thought Sakura, as she began to laugh. She looked up at the sky, tears of laughter in her eyes, "Thank you Lee!"

As Lee ran back to his training ground, he noticed two faces looking up at him.

"Well??" Asked Tenten as she nudged him in the side.

"Well what?" Said Lee innocently.

"Your date with Sakura! How did it go?" She asked eagerly.

"It-It was not a date."

"You Lie! Neji and I followed you around all day! You spent all day together, bought her lunch, and bought her a kitten. Speaking of which, I've decided that that's what I want for my birthday. But that's neither here nor there."

Lee just laughed and looked up at the sky, "Thank you Sakura!"

Okay. How was it? Did you hate it? Did you love it? Did it make your eyes bleed? Hopefully not, so, please review! By the by, no flames unless completely necessary.


End file.
